“When I was hired by PRC in 1998 as a contractor to find CJ’s first location, I could not have imagined how that first assignment might play out…that it would result in the privilege of leading this organization for a quarter century. PRC has helped make CJ far greater than the sum of its parts as well as a part of Pittsburgh’s identity and a part of the national conversation around material reuse and the circular economy.”
Mike Gable, Executive Director
Construction Junction, 1999 – 2025
On his first day on the job in 1998, Mike Gable had a business plan, a $200,000 grant from Pennsylvania Resources Council — and no staff, no building and no inventory.
Yet Mike’s vision, ingenuity and determination created Construction Junction, the region’s first nonprofit retail store for used and surplus building materials. Leaving its original Lawrenceville location in 2002, CJ moved into its current 50,000-square-foot warehouse in Point Breeze that’s become the region’s go-to place for used and reclaimed materials.
Following 26 years at the helm, in May Mike wraps up a quarter century serving as CJ’s Executive Director as CJ’s COO/General Manager Melissa Mongelli steps into the Executive Director role.
Mike explains the origins of his amazing journey: “Pennsylvania Resource Council and other organizations were interested in the idea of starting a retail operation that sold used building material. PRC had gotten telephone calls because people were calling them asking, ‘What do I do with this perfectly good vinyl siding or all of this leftover building material?’ Because they got all these inquiries, they thought it was time to put together a plan and try the retail operation out.”
“I like the creativity of starting something from scratch. Before I took on this project, I was an organic farmer, and what I liked most about that was that you could take a bare piece of ground, work it and it would produce something for you. I like that. The creative process is very stimulating and very challenging.”
To the entrepreneur who launched CJ’s Steel City Big Pour — along with CJ ReGives, DeConstruction Junction, a salvage arts festival and many other innovative programs — his friends at PRC say THANK YOU and JOB WELL DONE!
